Statocyte

[1] They contain amyloplasts-statoliths – starch-filled amyloplastic organelles – which sediment at the lowest part of the cells.

In the roots, sedimentation of the statoliths towards the lower part of the statocytes constitutes a signal for the production and redistribution of auxin.

Statocytes are present in the elongating region of coleoptiles, shoots and inflorescence stems.

[2] They can initiate differential growth patterns, bending the root towards the vertical axis.

The statoliths have sunk to the lowest part of the cell where they make contact with the plasma membrane.

Root tip: 1. meristem 2. columella (statocytes with statoliths at the bottom of the cell) 3. side of the root cap 4. dead cells 5. cell elongation zone. Optical microscope 100x
Statocyte: 1. cell wall 2. endoplasmic reticulum 3. plasmodesma 4. cell nucleus 5. mitochondrion 6. cytoplasm 7. statolith 8. root 9. columella 10.statocyte